Access control bypass on mobile for mass transit

ABSTRACT

A contactless transaction terminal and method for interacting with a payment enabled mobile device to permit access to a location or to a service. The contactless transaction terminal includes a processor, a polling signal generator operably connected to the processor, an NFC circuit operably connected to the polling signal generator, and a receiver operably connected to the NFC circuit and to a data recovery circuit that is operably connected to the processor. Also included is a storage device operably connected to the processor. The storage device stores program instructions which when executed cause the processor to generate, via the polling signal generator, short-distance radio signals including at least three polling signals; emit, via the NFC circuit, the at least three polling signals at frequent intervals for detection by a payment-enabled mobile device; receive at least one of a Type A or Type B signal from the payment enabled mobile device; and permit access to at least one of a location or service.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Nos. 62/279,048 (filed on Jan. 15, 2016); 62/306,825 (filedon Mar. 11, 2016); 62/322,319 (filed on Apr. 14, 2016); and 62/337,954(filed on May 18, 2016); and claims the benefit of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/334,735 (filed on Oct. 26, 2016) now U.S. Pat.No. 11,188,893; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/341,924 (filedon Jun. 8, 2021); wherein the contents of these U.S. ProvisionalApplications and U.S. Patent Applications are hereby incorporated byreference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Payment cards such as credit or debit cards are ubiquitous and fordecades such cards have included a magnetic stripe on which the relevantaccount number is stored. Traditionally, to consummate a purchasetransaction with such a card, the card is swiped through a magneticstripe reader that is part of the point of sale (POS) terminal. Thereader reads the account number from the magnetic stripe. The accountnumber is then used to route a transaction authorization request that isinitiated by the POS terminal.

In subsequent developments, smart cards (IC cards) have been developedand deployed as payment cards. In various configurations, the IC paymentcards engage in communications with a POS terminal either“contactlessly” (i.e., via short-range radio communication) or viadirect electrical contacts engaged with matching contacts on the POSreader.

Still more recently, systems have been deployed in which mobile devicessuch as smartphones have been equipped and programmed so as to emulatethe functionality of contactless payment IC cards. One or more paymentapplication programs (apps) are loaded in the payment-enabled mobiledevices to engage in contactless transactions with POS readers. Ashort-range radio communication capability (e.g., NFC) is also built into the payment-enabled mobile device and is utilized by the payment appin conducting contactless transactions. A payment account number orpayment token is provisioned to the payment app for transmission to thePOS terminal during a contactless transaction to identify or point tothe payment account to be used for the transaction.

For purposes of enhanced transaction security, payment-enabled mobiledevices have been equipped with user verification functionality tocontrol the user's access to the payment app. The user verificationfunctionality, in some payment-enabled mobile devices, includes afingerprint sensor. The user may be required to present his or herfinger-tip to the sensor to verify himself/herself, to open the paymentapp, and to approve a payment transaction with a single gesture. In thisway, for payment transactions, biometric-based security and a highdegree of convenience may be combined in a payment-enabled mobiledevice.

In other types of payment-enabled mobile devices, the user may enter aPIN or password to verify himself/herself in order to gain access to thepayment app for enabling a payment transaction.

Dedicated contactless IC cards or general-purpose contactless payment ICcards are also in use to allow the holders thereof to gain entrance tomass transit systems. In these applications, the dedicated or generalpurpose contactless card may very rapidly identify the holder to atransit system terminal that controls an entry gate for the transitsystem.

Payment-enabled mobile devices may also emulate contactless cards inpermitting the user of the device to gain entrance to the transit systemvia radio communications between the payment app on the mobile deviceand the transit system terminal. However, it is desirable that theinteraction between the card or mobile device—on the one hand—and thetransit terminal on the other, should be quite rapid so as to allow asmooth flow of users through the entry gate. With at least some currentexamples of payment apps in mobile devices, the user verificationrequired for accessing the payment app may result in delay andinconvenience in bringing about communication between the payment appand the transit terminal. Consequently, there may be a decrease inusability of at least some payment-enabled mobile devices for gainingentrance to mass transit systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of some embodiments of the present disclosure,and the manner in which the same are accomplished, will become morereadily apparent upon consideration of the following detaileddescription of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, which illustrate preferred and example embodiments and whichare not necessarily drawn to scale, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram that schematically illustrates a mass transit systementrance transaction in connection with which aspects of the presentdisclosure may be applied.

FIG. 2 is block diagram of a payment-enabled mobile device shown in FIG.1 and provided in accordance with teachings of this disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of a transit system transactionterminal provided in accordance with aspects of the present disclosureto operate in the context shown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates a conventional standardpolling process prescribed for transaction terminals.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that illustrates a modification of the processof FIG. 4 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that illustrates some of the functionality ofthe mobile device of FIG. 2 in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

DESCRIPTION

In general, and for the purpose of introducing concepts of embodimentsof the present disclosure, a payment-enabled mobile device may detectthat it is near a transit system terminal (which controls an entry gateto a mass transit system). As a result of detecting the nearness of thetransit system terminal, a payment app in the mobile device may beplaced in a mode of operation in which user verification features of theapp are bypassed and the payment app is made immediately available forcommunication with the transit system terminal without a requirement foruser verification. The payment-enabled mobile device's detection of thetransit system terminal may be based on detecting a sequence of pollingsignals transmitted by the transit system terminal and specific totransit system terminals By bypassing the user verification feature ofthe payment app, a very rapid and convenient interaction between thepayment-enabled mobile device and the transit system terminal may occur,to permit swift entrance of the mobile device user through the entrygate to the mass transit system.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1 which is a schematic illustration of anexample embodiment. More specifically, FIG. 1 is a diagram thatschematically illustrates a mass transit system entrance transaction inconnection with which aspects of the present disclosure may be applied.

In FIG. 1 , a transit system terminal 102 is shown. The transit systemterminal 102 may alternatively be referred to as a “transit systemtransaction terminal” or “transit system contactless transactionterminal” in the sense that the terminal 102 may engage in“transactions” with devices such as contactless IC cards,payment-enabled mobile devices, etc. The term “transaction” should beunderstood to refer to any exchange of data between the transit systemterminal 102 and another device in which the other device identifies theholder of the device and/or indicates that the holder is entitled toenter the transit system and/or arrangements are made for payment toobtain the holder's entrance into the payment system. An entry gate 103(also referred to as an “access gate”) to the transit system isoperatively coupled to the transit system terminal 102 and is undercontrol of the transit system terminal 102. In some embodiments, thetransit system terminal 102 may be physically integrated with the entrygate 103.

Also shown in FIG. 1 is an individual user 104 who is carrying apayment-enabled mobile device 106. An exchange of short-range radiocommunications between the payment-enabled mobile device 106 and thetransit system terminal 102 is schematically illustrated at 110.

Further aspects of operation of the transit system terminal 102 will bedescribed below in connection with its interactions with or effects uponthe mobile device 106. In some embodiments, operation of the transitsystem terminal 102 may resemble operation of a typical transit systemterminal. However, in other embodiments, and in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure, the sequence of polling signals transmittedby the transit system terminal may be different from polling signalsequences prescribed by standards related to interactions between PCDs(proximity coupling devices) and PICCs (proximity integrated circuitcards). (It will be understood that in connection with transit entryapplications, mobile devices may be programmed with a suitable app toemulate PICCs.) The different-from-current-standards polling signalsequence exhibited by the transit system terminal according to thelatter embodiments may aid the mobile device 106 in detecting that it isnear a transit system terminal rather than another type of PCD.

A wireless, short range exchange of signals between the mobile device106 and the transit system terminal 102 is schematically indicated at110 in FIG. 1 .

Further details of the payment-enabled mobile device 106 will also beprovided, including initially a discussion thereof in connection withFIG. 2 , to which reference is now made. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of anexample embodiment of the payment-enabled mobile device 106 shown inFIG. 1 ; the payment-enabled mobile device is provided in accordancewith teachings of this disclosure.

The mobile device 106 may include a housing 203. In many embodiments,the front of the housing 203 is predominantly constituted by atouchscreen (not separately shown), which is a key element of the userinterface 204 of the mobile device 106.

The mobile device 106 further includes a mobile processor/controlcircuit 206, which is contained within the housing 203. Also included inthe mobile device 106 is a storage/memory device or devices (referencenumeral 208). The storage/memory devices 208 are in communication withthe processor/control circuit 206 and may contain program instructionsto control the processor/control circuit 206 to manage and performvarious functions of the mobile device 106. As is well-known, a devicesuch as mobile device 106 may function as what is in effect apocket-sized personal computer (assuming for example that the mobiledevice is a smartphone), via programming with a number of applicationprograms, or “apps”, as well as a mobile operating system (OS). (Theapps are represented at block 210 in FIG. 2 , and may, along with otherprograms, in practice be stored in block 208, to program theprocessor/control circuit 206.)

Also shown in FIG. 2 is a payment/transit app 211. The payment/transitapp 211 is shown apart from the other apps represented at block 210, inpart due to the particular relevance of the payment/transit app 211 tothe subject of this disclosure. In addition, the separate representationof the payment/transit app 211 also may be considered to represent thepossibility that it is stored in a secured element (SE—not shown apartfrom block 211 or block 208), which may be provided in some embodimentsof the payment-enabled mobile device 106 to provide enhanced securityfor the payment/transit app 211 and/or sensitive data associatedtherewith. The SE, if present, may be conventional in its hardwareaspects. In addition or alternatively, security for the payment/transitapp 211 may be enhanced by known alternatives to an SE, such as a TEE(trusted execution environment).

To the extent that the SE includes processing capabilities, it mayfunctionally (though likely not physically) overlap with block 206; tothe extent that the SE includes storage (and particularly programstorage) capabilities, it may functionally (though likely notphysically) overlap with block 208.

In some embodiments, the payment/transit app 211 may be a generalpurpose payment app that provides access to a payment account systemthat is accepted by the mass transit system in question. Apart fromfeatures provided in accordance with teachings of this disclosure, thepayment/transit app in this case need not be specially adapted forobtaining entry to transit systems. Alternatively, the payment/transitapp 211 may be specifically modified for use with a particular transitsystem, in addition to use with conventional purchase transactions inretail stores and the like. In still other embodiments, thepayment/transit app 211 may be dedicated to use in connection with aparticular mass transit system and may not be usable with merchantsgenerally like a conventional payment app.

As is typical for mobile devices, the mobile device 106 may includemobile communications functions as represented by block 212. The mobilecommunications functions may include voice and data communications via amobile communication network with which the mobile device 106 isregistered.

In addition, to facilitate use as a payment-enabled device, the mobiledevice 106 may include short-range radio communications capabilities(block 214), including for example

NFC (near field communication). Thus block 214 may represent a suitableantenna (not separately shown) that is appropriate for NFCcommunications as well as driving and receiving circuitry associatedwith the antenna. It will be appreciated that the NFC antenna may beseparate and different from the antenna (not separately shown) utilizedby the mobile device 106 for the mobile communication functionsrepresented by block 212.

Also represented by block 214, and associated with the short-range radiocommunications capabilities of the mobile device 106, is hardware knownas the Contactless Front End (CLF). The CLF may overlap with otheraspects of block 214 that have already been mentioned. As will be seen,the CLF may assist in providing functionality to allow thepayment-enabled mobile device 106 to detect that it is near a transitsystem terminal 102, as in a situation as illustrated in FIG. 1 . Otheraspects of the functionality of the CLF will be described below.

Also shown in FIG. 2 is a biometric sensor 216, which may be one of thecomponents of the payment-enabled mobile device 106. The biometricsensor 216 may be, for example, a fingerprint sensor, and may operate toassist in verifying the user of the device in connection withtransactions to be performed at POS terminals in retail stores.

From the foregoing discussion, it will be appreciated that the blocksdepicted in FIG. 2 as components of the mobile device 106 may in effectoverlap with each other, and/or there may be functional connectionsamong the blocks which are not explicitly shown in the drawing. It mayalso be assumed that, like a typical smartphone, the mobile device 106may include a rechargeable battery (not shown) that is contained withinthe housing 203 and that provides electrical power to the activecomponents of the mobile device 106.

It has been posited that the mobile device 106 may be embodied as asmartphone, but this assumption is not intended to be limiting, asmobile device 106 may alternatively, in at least some cases, beconstituted by a tablet computer, smartwatch or by other types ofportable electronic devices.

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of an example embodiment of thetransit system terminal 102 shown in FIG. 1 .

As seen in FIG. 3 , the transit system terminal 102 may include aprocessor/CPU (central processing unit) 302. The processor 302 mayprovide overall control of the functioning of the transit systemterminal 102. Programming of the processor 302 may determine thefunctionality of the transit system terminal 102, including features andaspects provided in accordance with teachings of this disclosure.

The transit system terminal 102 may also include one or morememory/storage devices, indicated by reference numeral 304. The memory304 may be in communication with the processor 302 and may store programinstructions that control the processor 302 such that the transit systemterminal 102 provides desired functionality as described herein.

The transit system terminal 102 may further include a gate controlcircuit 306. The gate control circuit 306 may provide signals forcontrolling opening and closing of the access gate 103 (FIG. 1 , notshown in FIG. 3 ). The transit system terminal 102 may still furtherinclude a signal interface 308 for operatively coupling the gate controlcircuit and its signaling to the access gate 103. The gate controlcircuit 306, in turn, may be operatively coupled to, and controlled by,the processor 302.

In addition, the transit system terminal 102 may include an antenna 310.The antenna may be operatively coupled to an NFC circuit 312, whichtransmits polling signals generated by polling signal generator 314 viathe antenna 310. The polling signal generator 314 may be operativelycoupled to and may operate under the supervision of the processor 302.(Not shown in FIG. 3 is other circuitry that may be present in thetransit system terminal 102 to enable the transit system terminal 102 totransmit other signals required for the transit system terminal 102 toengage in interactive exchanges of communications with the mobile device106 or various types of PICC.)

Still further, the transit system terminal 102 may include a receivercircuit 316 and a data recovery circuit 318. The receiver circuit 316and the data recovery circuit 318 may operate to receive and recoverdata from short range data transmissions received at the transit systemterminal 102 via the antenna 310 and the NFC circuit 312. It will beappreciated that such data communication may be received from suitablyprogrammed mobile devices and from PICCs. The data recovered from suchtransmissions may be supplied to the processor 302 via the data recoverycircuit 318.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram that illustrates a conventional standardpolling process prescribed for transaction terminals. FIG. 4 ispresented as background, and for purposes of comparison with FIG. 5 ,which will be discussed below. FIG. 4 is taken from FIG. 9.2 (page 164)of EMV Contactless Book D (Contactless Communication Protocol v. 2.3),published March 2013 by EMVCo. LLC.

In the first branch 402 of the flow chart shown in FIG. 4 , a PCDtransmits a Type A polling signal (specifically, a “Wake Up Type A”signal), as indicated at block 404. In the second branch 406 of the flowchart, the PCD transmits a Type B polling signal (specifically, a “WakeUp Type B” signal), as indicated at block 408. (In both cases for thesebranches 402 and 406, it is assumed that execution of collisiondetection was not required.) Branches 410 and 412, etc., in FIG. 4 areoptional in the sense that they relate to other types of PICCtechnologies that may or may not be supported by a particular PCD.

The Wake Up Type A and Wake Up Type B polling signals may also bereferred to, respectively, as “EMV type A” and “EMV type B” pollingsignals.

The polling process shown in FIG. 4 may be typical of polling performedby a PCD in a retail environment.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that illustrates a modified polling processthat may be implemented in some embodiments of the transit systemterminal 102 in accordance with teachings of the present disclosure.

In the process of FIG. 5 , an additional process flow branch 502 isinserted between branch 402 and branch 406 a (the latter closelycorresponding to branch 406 in FIG. 4 ). As seen from FIG. 5 ,particularly at block 504, the branch 502 includes transmission by thetransit system terminal 102 of an additional Type B polling signal(i.e., a “Wake Up Type B” signal). In the Type B polling signal ofbranch 502, block 504, an AFI (Application Family Identifier) value of“10” is included. As is familiar to those who are skilled in the art,this AFI value corresponds to PICCs and the like for use in transitsystems.

Further, in this embodiment of the polling process, the Wake Up Type Bpolling signal included in branch 408 a, block 406 a, includes an AFIvalue of “00”. As is familiar to those who are skilled in the art, theAFI value “00” is a generic or unspecific AFI value.

With this polling process, the polling signal cycle transmitted from thetransit system terminal 102 would include a Type A polling signal,immediately followed by a Type B polling signal (with AFI value=“10”),immediately followed by another Type B polling signal (with the latterhaving an AFI value=“00”). Such a polling cycle may prove to be readilyindicative to a mobile device that the polling signals originate from atransit system terminal.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that illustrates some of the functionality ofthe mobile device 106 in accordance with aspects of this disclosure.

The process illustrated in FIG. 6 may be performed in and/or by themobile device 106. The process of FIG. 6 may commence with a decisionblock 602. At decision block 602 the mobile device 106 may determinewhether it has detected a transit system terminal (e.g., the terminal102 shown in FIG. 1 ). The mobile device 106 may make this determinationbased on detecting short-distance radio signals emitted by the transitsystem terminal in question. By detecting such signals, the mobiledevice may be said to have detected that it is near to and/or inproximity to a short-range radio enabled terminal.

It is also an aspect of the teachings of the present disclosure that themobile device not only detects the proximity of the terminal but alsodetermines the type of the terminal, i.e., a transit system terminalversus a POS terminal in a retail store or a payment-enabled gasolinestation pump, etc.

The signals emitted by the transit system terminal may be pollingsignals sent out at frequent intervals to allow the transit systemterminal to detect and interact with the supported cards and devicesusable for entry into the transit system. The cards/devices may belimited to use with a single transit agency, i.e., a “closed-loop”solution, and communicate via a proprietary protocol or a standardcommon for transit cards, such as Mifare and FeliCa.

In some embodiments the transit system terminal may be programmed and/orupgraded to additionally support cards/devices issued by a financialinstitution which follow communication standards defined by EMVCoContactless Book D, known as EMV cards. In these circumstances, thetransit system terminal will support emission of EMV card pollingsignals between emission of polling signals for closed-loop technology.Such open loop, for example EMV type, polling signals are known in theart as Wake Up A (WUPA) and Wake Up B (WUPB) polling signals.

The polling signals emitted by the transit system terminal 102 may bedetected by CLF component 214 to allow the terminal to be identified asa transit system terminal. In at least one embodiment a polling signalof the WUPB type is used with an Application Family Identifier (AFI)that identifies the terminal as a transit terminal between a WUPApolling signal and a standard a WUPB polling signal of a genericnon-application specific type. For example, the polling cycle asdescribed above in connection with FIG. 5 may be implemented by thetransit system terminal 102 and the CLF may be programmed to detect sucha polling cycle. That is, the CLF may detect the transit system terminal102 by detecting the polling signal sequence Wake Up Type A, Wake UpType B with AFI=10, Wake Up Type B with AFI=00.

In addition or alternatively, the transit system terminal 102 may emitone or more other types of distinctive signals or sequences of signalsfrom which the CLF can detect the transit system terminal 102.

In other embodiments, a suitable short-range radio beacon (not shown)may be co-located with the transit system terminal 102 to provide aspecial-purpose signal for detection by the CLF or other component ofthe mobile device 106 to indicate the proximity of the transit systemterminal 102.

As noted above, in at least one embodiment the sequential detection bythe mobile device 106 of WUPB polling signals with AFIs of a transittype and generic type is used to determine that a terminal is a transitterminal. It should be noted that the order of the WUPB polling signalscan be transit AFI preceding generic AFI or vice-versa.

If a negative determination is made at block 602 (i.e., if the mobiledevice 106 does not detect the nearness of a transit system terminal),then block 604 may follow decision block 602 in the process of FIG. 6 .At block 604, the payment/transit app 211 running in the mobile device106 may continue to be engaged in its normal modes of operations,including requirements for user verification.

If a positive determination is made at block 602 (i.e., if the mobiledevice 106 detects the proximity of the transit system terminal 102),then block 606 may follow decision block 602 in the process of FIG. 6 .At block 606, the payment/transit app 211 may depart from its usualmodes of operation so as to bypass the customary user verification suchas fingerprint verification or PIN entry and confirmation. For example,a prevailing requirement for CDCVM (consumer device cardholderverification method) may be bypassed at block 606.

Block 608 may follow block 606. At block 608, the NFC component of themobile device 106 and the payment/transit app may be enabled to engagein a transaction, including a transaction with a transit system terminalsuch as the terminal 102 shown in FIG. 1 . The transaction to allow theuser 104 to enter the transit system may then take place, as indicatedat block 610 in FIG. 6 . Since the terminal has been detected as being atransit terminal, the transaction may proceed, in some embodiments,using Type A or Type B signaling.

In at least one embodiment, during the transaction (as per decisionblock 612 in FIG. 6 ), the mobile device 106/payment app 211 maydetermine whether the transaction is identified as an EMV transactionfor a transit system. This determination may be based on either or bothof a transaction amount of zero and a Merchant Category Code (MCC)indicative of the transit system merchant category and/or it may bebased upon the detection of the WUPB polling signals with sequentialtransit and generic AFIs. If a positive determination occurs, then thetransaction is completed (block 614). Otherwise, i.e., if the properconditions for a transit transaction are not found, then thepayment/transit app 211 may terminate the transaction (block 616, FIG. 6) and follow on to block 604 in the process of FIG. 6 .

With a process like that of FIG. 6 embodied in the mobile device 106,the mobile device may be used to rapidly interact with the transitsystem terminal so that the user 104 may swiftly enter the transitsystem via the entry gate controlled by the transit system terminal.Delays that might otherwise occur in or with the mobile device due touser verification activities and processing may be forestalled, and asmooth flow of pedestrian traffic maintained through the entry gate.Thus, embodiments as described herein may function such that a userfinds entering a transit system via a payment-enabled mobile device tobe equivalent, in terms of user experience, to entry via a contactlessIC card. Accordingly, with embodiments as described herein there may beno need for users to prepare the mobile device while approaching theentry gate, nor for the users to remove their gloves to operate themobile device.

One manner of implementing the decision making at block 602 of FIG. 6may be as follows. The CLF component 214 of the mobile device 106 may beconfigured such that it detects a WUPB with AFI=10 between a WUPA polland a WUPB with AFI=00 poll, as illustrated in FIG. 5 , and if detected,the CLF component 214 may trigger the NFC capability and EMV cardpayment functionality of the payment/transit app 211, with userverification having been by-passed. On detection of a contactlesspolling, pending detection of WUPB with AFI=10 within the cycle asillustrated in FIG. 5 , the CLF may initiate the process to request useractivation, according to the customary manner of engaging in, e.g., aretail store purchase transaction (i.e., user verification is required),reverting to by-passing user verification if WUPB with AFI=10 isdetected.

In some embodiments, the mobile device 106 may be programmed to provideprotections against unauthorized transactions by one or both of thefollowing in lieu of the bypassed user verification: (1) Requiring userconsent (but not verification); the user consent may be indicated by,e.g., tapping or double-tapping a hardware or software input on themobile device or associated peripheral (such as a smartwatch or headsetlinked to the mobile device), or by causing the orientation of themobile device to be changed in a pre-determined patterned manner (e.g.,pivoting in space back and forth) so as to be detected by gyroscopeelements of the mobile device); the indication of user consent may occurjust before presenting the mobile device for reading by the transitsystem terminal; and/or (2) establishment of a counter or counters inthe mobile device and/or the payment/transit app to limit the number oftimes transactions can be performed consecutively with bypassing of userverification; the resetting of the counters may occur upon a successfuluser verification via the mobile device; the counters may operate in ananalogous manner to so-called “lost & stolen” counters.

In some embodiments of the transit system terminal 102, the pollingprocess may include a preliminary section to identify the technologycharacteristic of the PICC, followed by a secondary polling andselection process once the technology has been identified. In suchembodiments, the reader RF field may be reset between the two processsections, and the secondary polling may not include the additionalpolling branch indicated at 502 in FIG. 5 .

Bypassing of user verification may be employed in similar fashion asdescribed in connection with FIG. 6 in various contexts according tovarious embodiments. For example, the approach of FIG. 6 may be appliedwith so-called “open loop” systems such as MasterCard, Visa, etc.; andwith so-called “closed loop” systems such as M/Chip private label,non-EMV such as Octopus (HK) and Suica (Japan), and ITSO.

Other contexts in which the approach of FIG. 6 may be applied includeaccess control and identification applications, such as hotel access,motor vehicle access, workplace or room access; home access; access tobank branch or ATM enclosure, vehicle charging station; governmentfacility access.

In the context of merchants' customer loyalty accounts, the approach ofFIG. 6 may be applied at a contactless terminal that supports loyaltyaccount retrieval prior to initiation of a payment transaction at apoint of sale.

The same approach may also be applied in the context of a non-EMVpayment transaction. The user device (e.g., a payment-enabledsmartphone) may detect that a POS terminal prefers a non-EMV paymentcommunication protocol. In response to detecting this characteristic ofthe POS terminal, a wallet app on the payment-enabled phone mayautomatically select a payment app/account that matches the preferenceof the POS terminal. The transaction may then proceed without CDCVM andwith/or without requiring an operator of the POS terminal to provideinput to the POS terminal to select the payment communication protocolto be used for the transaction.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “processor” shouldbe understood to encompass a single processor or two or more processorsin communication with each other.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “memory” should beunderstood to encompass a single memory or storage device or two or morememories or storage devices.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “non-retailcontactless transaction terminal” refers to a PCD or other contactlessterminal that does not engage in charging a monetary amount to a paymentaccount, and/or is not located at a point of sale in a retail store.

With respect to two signals transmitted by a transmitting device, theterm “immediately follows”, as used herein and in the appended claims,indicates that no signal was transmitted by the transmitting devicebetween transmission of the first one of the transmitted signals andtransmission of the second one of the transmitted signals.

The above descriptions and illustrations of processes herein should notbe considered to imply a fixed order for performing the process steps.Rather, the process steps may be performed in any order that ispracticable, including simultaneous performance of at least some steps.

Although the present invention has been described in connection withspecific example embodiments, it should be understood that variouschanges, substitutions, and alterations apparent to those skilled in theart can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A contactless transaction terminal forinteracting with a payment enabled mobile device to permit access to alocation or to a service comprising: a processor; a polling signalgenerator operably connected to the processor; an NFC circuit operablyconnected to the polling signal generator; a receiver operably connectedto the NFC circuit and to a data recovery circuit, wherein the datarecovery circuit is operably connected to the processor; and a storagedevice operably connected to the processor, wherein the storage devicestores program instructions which when executed cause the processor to:generate, via the polling signal generator, short-distance radio signalscomprising at least three polling signals; emit, via the NFC circuit,the at least three polling signals at frequent intervals for detectionby a payment-enabled mobile device; receive at least one of a Type A orType B signal, via the NFC device, receiver and the data recoverycircuit, from the payment enabled mobile device; and permit access to atleast one of a location or service.
 2. The contactless transactionterminal of claim 1, further comprising an antenna operably coupled tothe NFC circuit, and wherein the at least three polling signals areemitted by the antenna at frequent intervals.
 3. The contactlesstransaction terminal of claim 1, wherein the polling signals that areemitted are indicative of a non-retail contactless transaction terminal.4. The contactless transaction terminal of claim 3, further comprising:a gate control circuit operably connected to the processor; an accessgate interface circuit operably connected to the gate control circuit;and an access gate operably connected to the access gate interfacecircuit; wherein the storage device stores further program instructionswhich when executed cause the processor to transmit, via the gatecontrol circuit and access gate interface circuit, instructions forcontrolling opening and closing of the access gate.
 5. The contactlesstransaction terminal of claim 1, wherein the at least three pollingsignals comprise at least one of a Type A polling signal followed by afirst Type B polling signal and a second Type B polling signal.
 6. Thecontactless transaction terminal of claim 5, wherein the at least threepolling signals comprise EMV card proximity coupling device (PCD)polling signals.
 7. The contactless transaction terminal of claim 5,wherein the Type A polling signal comprises a Type A polling signal withan AFI (Application Family Identifier), the first Type B polling signalcomprises a Type B polling signal with an AFI value of “10” and thesecond Type B polling signal comprises a Type B polling signal with anAFI value of “00”.
 8. A method for permitting access to a location or toa service comprising: generating, by a processor of a contactlesstransaction terminal, short-distance radio signals comprising at leastthree polling signals; emitting, by the processor via an NFC circuitoperably connected to the processor, the at least three polling signalsat frequent intervals; receiving, by the processor via the NFC device,and via a receiver operably connected to the NFC device and to a datarecovery circuit operably connected to the processor, at least one of aType A signal or a Type B signal, from a payment enabled mobile device;and permitting access, by the processor, to at least one of a locationor service.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein emitting the at least twopolling signals at frequent intervals comprises utilizing an antennaoperably coupled to the NFC circuit.
 10. The method of claim 8, whereinthe emitted polling signals are indicative of a non-retail contactlesstransaction terminal.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprisingcontrolling, by the processor via a gate control circuit operablyconnected to the processor, an access gate interface circuit operablyconnected to the gate control circuit and an access gate operablyconnected to the access gate interface circuit, opening and closing ofthe access gate.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least threedifferent polling signals comprise at least one of a Type A pollingsignal followed by a first Type B polling signal and a second Type Bpolling signal.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least threepolling signals comprise EMV card proximity coupling device (PCD)polling signals.
 14. The contactless transaction terminal of claim 8,wherein the Type A polling signal comprises a Type A polling signal withan AFI (Application Family Identifier), the first Type B polling signalcomprises a Type B polling signal with an AFI value of “10” and thesecond Type B polling signal comprises a Type B polling signal with anAFI value of “00”.